The Jackson Sun (Jackson, Tennessee): A journey of faith, hope

Falun Gong followers are on a long mission

Photos by STEVE RUARK/The Jackson Sun - David Jerke, of Takoma, Wash., left, is joined by Phil Bennett of Hopkinsville, Ky., right; Bennett's wife Viviana Galli, background left; and Li, of Memphis. The group has pledged to trek from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles on foot in order to bring awareness of persecution in China of the followers of Falun Gong. They passed through Jackson on Monday.

U.S. practitioners of Falun Gong have heard the reports from China for two years.

Hundreds in China have been arrested, kicked out of school and fired from their jobs because they practice Falun Gong. Their books have been burned and houses ransacked. About 300 practitioners have died in police custody because of their beliefs.

Now, U.S. practitioners are spreading the word to Americans one step at a time.

David Lee Jerke of Tacoma, Wash., started the "S.O.S.! Global Rescue Walk" on Sept. 6 in Washington, D.C., and will complete it in Los Angeles in January.

Jerke and a group of Falun Gong practitioners, including some from West Tennessee, walked through Jackson to Brownsville on Monday and met with a few city leaders to answer questions about their mission to stop the persecution.

"Many elected officials see it as a Chinese issue, but it very clearly is not a Chinese issue and not a political issue," Jerke said. "This is a human issue dealing with basic human rights: the right to live, freedom of speech, freedom of belief and freedom of assembly."

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a study of the body, mind, humanity and the cosmos, Jerke said. Practitioners use physical and mental exercises to work on their thoughts, actions and being. It is based on three principles - truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.

China's [party name omitted] government, however, banned the practice, declaring Falun Gong a [Jiang Zemin government's slanderous term omitted]. Practitioners are arrested, tortured and placed in mental institutions, but they continue practicing, Jerke said.

City Councilman Jessie Jacox offered the group his support.

"I support any effort against terrorism, oppression and wrongdoing," he said. "The American people don't support that. I wish God's speed on that, and you have my prayers."

The group realizes most Americans are thinking about the "war on terrorism" rather than China's persecution of Falun Gong.

"We've noticed the change in the climate from pre-terrorist attacks to post-terrorist attacks," Jerke said. "At the same time, many are realizing the need to face evil and the many different forms it takes.

"In the United States, we are facing an invisible enemy and terrorist organization. In China, it's state-run terrorism."

So the Falun Gong practitioners walk to spread the word.

"In walking I feel I am really doing something decent," said Annie Wu of Memphis. "I'm not walking for myself. I'm walking for the people doing the same practice and who need help in China."

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